New PM turns his gaze towards North East
1 Jun 2014 10:45 PM GMT
The step taken by Modi shows his skill at striking balance in maintaining cordial relationship with neighboring countries as well as ‘zero tolerance’ over national security. A ministerial team along with few experts will visit the area to prepare a report on the ‘exiting defence set up’ in the region and what more is required.
The PM has also asked Singh to expedite the process of 3000 MW Dibang Hydro project, which is considered as the largest in the nation. The foundation stone for the project was laid in 2008 but till today nothing has been done since the files are awaiting clearance.
‘Modi during his election campaign repeatedly stressed on the development of the North East. The area falls under his priority and therefore he has asked us to expedite the process of development in the region,’ a ministry source said.
On the context of other areas where he has asked for special attention, the source said, ‘The construction Rs 24,000 crore Trans Arunachal Highway, which will include better rail, road and air connectivity is also on the agenda. This project was implemented in 2007 and since then nothing has been done.’
It was learnt that Modi will soon take an official tour to Nagaland because in the last 10 years no PM has visited the area. The other developmental projects, which the DoNER was asked to follow is special financial package to set up Meghalaya’s own assembly building and to promote industry
in the region.
Earlier, in September 2001, DoNER was set up as a ‘department’ under the union government. The reason behind the ‘department’ was to bridge the economic development gap between the region and the rest of the country.
Later, it was thought that it should be converted into a separate ministry and in 2004 DoNER was formed by the then prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Sources said Modi has also asked for the files related to scams involving ISRO’s commercial arm Antrix Corporation and Devas Multimedia. There are allegations that ISRO had allocated 70 MH of S-band spectrum for a 20 year-period to Devas.
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